Virtual machines (VMs) are an increasingly popular technology for improving flexibility and efficiency in a range of computational systems. Certain VM systems are conventionally managed using a graphical user interface (GUI) application, which provides an intuitive visual interface for managing individual virtual machine instances. One example GUI known in the art is included in a product sold by VMware, Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif. as VMware Workstation. This product includes a sidebar containing a tree with two main top-level items, a “Powered On” list and a “Favorites” list. The “Powered On” list provides an inventory of virtual machines currently executing in the workstation and the “Favorites” list provides an inventory of virtual machines that the user has designated as a favorite. Thus, as virtual machines are powered on and off, they appear and disappear from the “Powered On” list. Similarly, virtual machines appear and disappear from the “Favorites” list as they are designated as a favorite or not.
Another GUI known in the art is included in a product sold by VMware, Inc. as vSphere Client. A sidebar with a tree view of certain objects is used to represent search results. However, the entire tree structure may change based on whether the user wants to organize by host, data store, network, etc. As a result, this GUI requires some training and experience before a user can navigate it with ease.
As VM systems grow to include a larger number of VM instances, conventional GUIs can quickly become unwieldy and inefficient in presenting information about individual VM instances. Therefore, what is needed in the art is a technique for presenting information about VM instances in a simple and intuitive manner while providing sufficient information so that virtual machines can be managed effectively.